The Shot that Changed a Life
by BoandHutchFan
Summary: After Starsky and Hutch save a girl that's in harm's way and Hutch ends up in the hospital, Starsky takes the girl in to protect her and capture the man that put her in harm's way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Starsk! Stop the car!" Hutch yelled.

"Why?" Starsky asked.

"Just do it. There's a girl over there running from a guy with a gun."

Starsky stopped the car, allowing Hutch to get out and run towards the fleeing girl. Starsky followed with the Stripped Tomato. Hutch had a hard time catching up since they were farther ahead. The man shot at the girl, who ducked out of the way. Once Hutch got behind the man, he started catching up.

The man looked behind him to see Hutch after him. He stopped suddenly, making Hutch run past him. The girl stopped running when she saw Hutch put himself between her and the man.

"Run." Hutch said to her.

She didn't hesitate. The man raised the gun to shoot. Right as he pulled the trigger, Hutch stepped in the line of fire.

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

When I heard the gunshots, I turned around. What I saw made me scream. The man put himself in the line of fire to protect me. I look over to see this red car stop and a man with curly black hair get out and take cover behind it. The man who was chasing me shot at him. He ducked behind the car and then shot the guy in stomach. When he was sure that he was down , I saw him run over to the blonde on the ground. I decided to run over to them.

When I got there, tears were pouring out of my eyes.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" I said.

"It's not your fault." the dark-haired man said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Can I help in anyway?" I asked.

"Call an ambulance. Tell them to go to the General Store on Main Street,"

"OK." I ran into the store and grabbed the phone on the desk, no matter if I wasn't allowed to use it. I quickly dialed 911.

"This is 911, what is your emergency?"

"I need help on Main Street in front of the General Store. 1669 is the address. Two men were shot." I panicked.

"Now just be calm, where are both of the bullet wounds?" the woman asked me.

"In the stomach."

"OK. Apply pressure to the wounds."

"Somebody's got that covered. Well, one of them anyway." I said.

"OK. Just try to keep them calm . We'll get someone out there as quickly as possible."

"Thank you." I said and hung up the phone and ran out and kneeled next to the blonde man once again.

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

Starsky saw it all unfold. Hutch put himself between the girl and the gunman and told her to run. She ran as fast as she could, but as she started running. the gunman fire. But Hutch put himself in the line of fire and the girl stopped as soon as she heard gunshots.

"HUTCH!" Starsky yelled.

He quickly stopped the car and got out, taking cover behind it.

"Put your hands up!" he yelled, pointing his gun at the man. The man fired at Starsky, who ducked behind his car. He shot back, hitting him in the stomach. He fell to the ground.

Starsky ran over to Hutch, who was on the ground. The girl also ran up to Hutch.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she said. Tears were rolling down her face.

"It's not your fault. Are you alright?" Starsky asked her.

"Yeah, can I help in anyway?" she asked.

"Call an ambulance. Tell them to go to the General Store on Main Street." Starsky replied.,

"OK." she said as she ran into the store.

"Hutch? You still with me?" Starsky said as he put pressure on Hutch's gunshot wound.

"Yeah. Sorta." Hutch replied. He groaned when Starsky put pressure on his wound. "Starsk?"

"Don't let that girl blame herself." Hutch looked over at the man on the ground. "He still alive?"

Starsky reached over and put a hand on the man's neck. "Yeah."

Hutch closed his eyes. "Nope. Stay with me." Starsky said,

"I don't wanna. 'M so tired and cold."

"I know partner. She's in the store calling an ambulance right now." Starsky said as he stripped his coat and put it over Hutch.

"Great."

The girl came running out and kneeled next to Hutch once again.

"Why don't you put some pressure on that man's wound?" Starsky asked her. He saw the fear flash through her eyes. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

She hesitated before moving over to the man slowly. She put her fingers on the wound and turned towards Starsky so she didn't have to look at it.

"Your doin' real good." Starsky said. "What's your name?"

"Ka-Katherine Howard. Yours?" she said.

"Starsky. Dave Starsky. You can just call me Starsky." he replied. "This is Ken Hutchinson. You can call him Hutch. We're detectives."

She nodded.

In the distance they all heard the sirens of ambulances.

"Hear that Hutch? Cavalry's coming."

"I think you got the wrong definition of cavalry, Starsk." Hutch replied.

"Not in this situation." Starsky mumbled 

* * *

**This story will be updated like my previous Starsky and Hutch story. Expect an update every Sunday! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I promise I didn't mean not to update for the last 2 weeks! The first week I went to my friends house because the next day we were going skiing, then the next week I was sick and I couldn't update! So this week your getting a chapter along with 2 others! Enjoy!  
Chapter 2**

Two ambulances came to pick both Hutch and the other man up and took them to the hospital. Starsky watched as Katherine broke down on the sidewalk. She blamed herself for this. He walked over to her and kneeled down next to her. He put a hand on her back.

"Hey, it's alright." Starsky said.

"No, it's not! I'm the one who made Hutch get shot!" Katherine yelled.

"No, no, no. It's not your fault. He wanted to do it. He wanted to protect you." Starsky said.

"But-" she started.

"No buts. Let's go. I'll take you to the hospital. You can see him after he's settled. How 'bout that?" he asked.

"I don't want to be any trouble."

"You won't be."

"You sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure."

Starsky helped her up and walked her to his car. She slowly got in the passenger side and Starsky got in the driver's side. She pulled her knees up to her chest and put her head in between them.

After a while, she lifted her head, showing the tears rolling down her face. Starsky reached over and rubbed her back.

"Hey, it'll be OK. You don't know Hutch. He's stronger than you think." Starsky said compassionately. He brushed away the tears with his thumb.

She sniffed and moved closer to Starsky. He put his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder.

'This was too much for her to handle.' Starsky thought to himself.

Not too long after, she was asleep.

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

It wasn't too long before two ambulances came to pick up Hutch and the guy who was chasing me. When they left, I broke down right there on the sidewalk.

'It's all my fault.' I thought to myself. 'He got shot because of me.'

I was a little startled when Starsky came over to me and put his hand on my back.

"Hey, it's alright." he said to me.

"No, it's not! I'm the one who made Hutch get shot!" I yelled at him.

"No, no, no. It's not your fault. He wanted to do it. He wanted to protect you."

"But-" I started.

"No buts." he cut me off. "Let's go. I'll take you to the hospital. You can see him after he's all settled. How 'bout that?"

"I don't want to be any trouble."

"You won't be."

"You sure?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm sure." he said.

He helped me up and walked me to his car. I didn't get in real fast since I didn't really know the guy and he had a flashy car. When I was finally settled, I pulled my knees up to my chest and put my head in between them. I let the tears flow out of my eyes.

'What if he dies? What will happen to me? I thought to myself. 'Will I go to jail?"

When I lifted my head, Starsky noticed the tears rolling down my face. He reached over and rubbed my back.

"Hey, it'll be OK. You don't know Hutch. He's stronger than you think." He said compassionately. He brushed away my tears with his thumb.

I sniffed and I slowly moved closer to Starsky. He wrapped his arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. He seemed pretty nice and trustworthy, so I took that chance. Since he's a cop, he's trustworthy right? I was soon asleep and lost in my own dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Starsky drove to the hospital. Katherine head was against his shoulder, and she was curled up. She had blood on her hands from applying pressure to the man's wound. He put his hand on her's and squeezed it slightly. Her hand was cold, so he tried to warm it up.

Once they arrived, he shook her slightly.

"Hey, kiddo. We're here." he said.

She lifted her head and cracked her eyes. She opened them the rest of the way and sat up and rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"C'mon, I'll help you." he said, helping her out of the car.

They walked slowly into the hospital. Starsky told Katherine to go wash up, so she wouldn't scare anybody. He decided he should too. He told her to meet him back in the waiting room. She nodded and walked off, looking for a bathroom.

Soon after, they met up and sat down in the hard waiting room chairs.

"Now, are you sure he won't mind me there?" she asked again.

"I'm sure. He won't mind." Starsky said.

She sighed. "OK." she said.

"Here for Kenneth Hutchinson?" a voice asked.

"Right here."

The doctor walked over to Starsky, who stood up. Katherine stayed seated.

"How's he doin'?" he asked.

"Well, we stopped the bleeding and got the bullet out. He is in his own room. The bullet didn't hit anything vital." the doctor replied.

"Good, can we see him?"

"Yes. Room 116. Do you need help finding it?"

"No, I've been here so many times, I know this hospital in and out." Starsky replied.

"OK. We will come and check on him from time to time."

Starsky nodded. The doctor left. Starsky squatted down to Katherine's level. She looked at him. She had tears in her eyes.

"Hey, if Hutch see's you like that, he'll go crazy." Starsky said.

"Sorry, I can't help it." she said, wiping away the tears.

"He's OK. You heard the doctor, it didn't hit anything vital, they got the bullet out and stopped the bleeding."

She nodded and got up. They both walked in silence to room 116. Starsky opened the door. When Katherine saw Hutch on the bed, she turned away. Starsky led her to one of the chairs and sat her down. He turned to Hutch. His eyes were cracked open.

"Hey, buddy. How're you feelin'?" he asked.

"Meh." Hutch replied gruffly.

"Look who I brought to see you." Starsky said.

Katherine pushed herself out of the chair and walked over to Hutch.

"Hey, you don't need those tears in your eyes. I'm alright." he reached up and put a hand on her face. She put her hand over his and held it there. She closed her eyes. She sniffed and wiped away her tears with her other hand.

"Why'd you have to do that?" she whimpered.

"I wanted to do it."

She looked at Starsky, who gave her a told you so, look.

About half an hour later, Starsky and Katherine walked out of Hutch's room. Down the hall, Dobey was coming towards them. Katherine hid behind Starsky, scared of the big, burly man. When they met, Dobey noticed Katherine immediately, peering from behind Starsky.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"This is Katherine." Starsky said, putting her in front of him. She leaned against Starsky, scared.

"Hey, it's OK. He's just my captain." She didn't let up any. "This is Dobey." Starsky introduced her to him.

"Hi, Katherine." Dobey said, giving her a smile.

"Hi." she said quickly, hiding her face in Starsky's shirt.

"Let's sit you down." Starsky said.

She sat down and focused on everything but Dobey.

"How's Hutch?" Dobey asked.

"He's doing better than he probably should be." Starsky said. "You can go talk to him if you want."

"I think I will." he said. "Take care of her." gesturing to Katherine.

Starsky nodded.

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

I felt someone shake me, then I heard Starsky's voice. "Hey, kiddo. We're here."

I slightly opened my eyes, then sat up and yawned, rubbing them.

"C'mon, I'll help you." Starsky said to me.

I allowed him to help me out of his car and lead me into the hospital.

"Hey, why don't you go wash up. We don't want scare anybody, you know? I'll wash up too." he said.

I nodded and went to look for a bathroom.

'I'm afraid he's going to blame me.' I thought to myself. 'But Starsky said he wanted to do it.'

I found a bathroom and walked in. I watched as the blood going down the drain turned pink. I sighed and dried my hands after I got all the blood off. I walked out to the waiting room just as Starsky did. We sat next to each other.

"Now, are you sure he won't mind me there?" I asked again.

"I'm sure. He won't mind." Starsky said,

"OK." I sighed.

"Here for Kenneth Hutchinson?" came a voice.

"Right here." Starsky said.

The doctor walked over to Starsky, who stood up. I stayed sitting down. He explained how Hutch was doing. I sort of listened, afraid of what he would say. When Starsky crouched down to my level, I looked into his eyes. I had tears in mine...again.

"Hey, if Hutch sees you like that, he'll go crazy." he said.

"Sorry, I can't help it." I said, wiping away the tears.

"He's OK. You heard the doctor, it didn't hit anything vital, they got the bullet out and stopped the bleeding." he said, looking into my eyes.

I nodded and he walked me to room 116. When I saw Hutch on that bed, I turned away.

'He looks so tiny in that bed.' I thought.

Starsky grabbed me, just so I wouldn't fall over, and led me to a chair for me to sit.

All I heard was muffled sound then, "Look who I brought to see you"

I got up and walked over to Hutch. His eyes were open and they were looking at me. He instantly noticed the tears in my eyes.

"Hey, you don't need those tears in your eyes. I'm alright." he said. He reached up and put his hand on my face. I put one of my hands on top of him and wiped away my tears with my other hand. I closed my eyes.

"Why'd you do that?" I whimpered.

"I wanted to do it." Hutch replied.

I turned my heard towards Starsky, who gave me a I told ya so, look. I smiled and chuckled.

About half an hour later, me and Starsky left Hutch's room. At the other end of the hall, there was a big, burly man coming towards us. I immediately got behind Starsky, afraid of what he might do. I peered around him just to be able to see a little bit of the man. When he met up with us, he noticed me immediately.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"This is Katherine." Starsky said, putting me in front of him. I leaned against Starsky, still not trusting the man in front of me. "Hey, it's OK. He's just my captain." Starsky said. I didn't let up any. "This is Dobey."

"Hi, Katherine." Dobey said, giving me a smile.

"Hi." I said quickly, hiding my face in Starsky's shirt.

"Let's sit you down." Starsky sat me in a chair near them.

I sat down and focused on anything but Dobey. The next thing I know, I was being led out of the hospital.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Starsky looked over at Katherine, who was looking out the window.

"Why were you so scared of my captain?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "I guess he looked a little scary and mean." she said.

"I guess I understand. He is big. It was a first impression."

"Are you going to take me to a hotel?" she asked.

"No! Your coming to my house." Starsky said.

"But I don't wanna impose." she objected.

"You won't. I promise. Do you have any clothes?"

"Yeah, I hid them somewhere. Just so I know where they are and nobody goes through them."

"Can you direct me to where?" he asked.

She nodded.

She pointed Starsky to where Starsky needed to turn, and soon they were pulling up to an apartment. Hutch's apartment. She got out and went up to a plant and pulled a suitcase out from behind it.

Starsky looked up at Hutch's apartment window, half expecting for him to show up and wave, saying he would be out in a minute. His thoughts were interrupted when his door opened and a suitcase got put in the back seat.

"You know your back seat's a mess, right?" Katherine asked, hanging over the seat, trying to situate her suitcase.

"Yeah, I know."

His backseat was littered with coffee cups and gum wrappers, put there by Hutch himself. Some of it was Starsky's.

"Maybe I should clean it for you."

"Nope. Your my guest. Guests don't do my work." Starsky objected.

"Your loss."

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

I was looking out the window when Starsky asked me a question.

"Why were you so scared of my captain?' he asked me.

I shrugged. "He looked scary and mean."

Starsky nodded. "I understand. He is big. It was a first impression

"Are you going to send me to a hotel?" I asked. He looked at me, surprised.

"No! Your coming to my house." Starsky said, smiling.

"I don't wanna impose." I said, looking at him.

"You won't. I promise. Do you have any clothes?" he asked me.

"Yeah, but I hid them somewhere. Just so I know where they are and nobody goes through them." I replied.

"Can you direct me to where they are?"

I nodded.

As Starsky started the car, I thought to myself. 'I hope nobody's found my suitcase.'

I directed Starsky to where I had hid my suitcase and soon we pulled up to an apartment called Venice Place. I didn't know who's it was, but I decided to stash my suitcase behind a big plant in front.

When I put my suitcase in the backseat, I noticed that I was littered with styrofoam coffee cups and gum wrappers.

"You know your backseats a mess, right?" I asked, hanging over the seat, trying to get my suitcase situated.

"Yeah, I know." he said.

"Maybe I should clean it for you."

"Nope. Your my guest. Guests don't do my work. I do my work." he objected.

"Your loss." I muttered as I got situated in the front seat.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Once Starsky had gotten back to his house, he had gotten Katherine settled. Katherine volunteered to make dinner, but Starsky refused. She finally got him to agree.

"What'a ya want?" she asked.

"What's your special?"

"A lot of things." she replied.

"Surprise me."

She nodded and searched each cupboard for what she was looking for. When she didn't find it, she closed the last cupboard door, sighing.

"Where's your spice cupboard?" she asked.

Starsky pointed to one of the cupboards above the last one she had just shut. She hit her forehead with her palm before reaching up and opening it, pulling out what she needed.

"What're you makin'?" he asked.

"Ah ah ah. It's a surprise." she replied.

She went to his freezer, and took out 2 pounds of meat. She cut off the ends of the bags and put them on a plate and put it in the microwave above his oven. She entered 2 pounds into the microwave for it to defrost and walked out and sat on the couch next to Starsky. He wasn't watching TV, so she retrieved the remote and turned on the TV. She was flipping through channels, then stopped, seeing that the Dukes of Hazzard was on. She set the remote down.

"Hey, you like the Dukes too?" Starsky asked.

"Oh yeah! I could talk about them for hours!" she replied.

"What's your favorite episode?"

"Uhh...There's so many. I would have to say My Son, Bo Hogg. Yours?"

"I like Officer Daisy Duke."

"Of course. You're a cop, then she was a cop. You like tough women?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna wrestle?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me. Come on, I was raised with three older brothers."

Starsky winced. He felt his leg being tugged and falling to the ground with a grunt. Katherine rolled him over and sat on his back and put his hands behind his back. She looked over and saw his handcuffs in his back pocket. She smiled and grabbed them. She opened them and put them on one of Starsky's wrists, and then t o the other one. She got up off him and studied her handy work. She heard the microwave beep, signaling that she needed to turn the meat over.

"Be right back." she said, walking over to the kitchen and flipped the meat over. Then walked back over to Starsky.

"Come on! That wasn't fair! I wasn't ready!" he said.

"Fine. I'll do it fair and square this time." she said.

Katherine retrieved the key from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs, putting them in her back pocket for future use. She let him get up and get ready. She let him make the first move, which was trying to get her knees to buckle. That failed and Katherine took her left leg and put it around Starsky's and pulled toward her. He went down, but immediately got up again.

He charged her, but she moved, tripping him. He got up behind her and took her down, handcuffing her. He smiled and got up off of her. She rolled over and got up quickly. She went around him and got her hands in front of her and put them around Starsky's neck.

"Give up?" she whispered in his ear. He nodded, pulling at the chains of the handcuffs.

She released her grip and had Starsky unlock her, so she could work on supper. She heard the microwave beep again, letting her know that the meat was done defrosting.

As she was walking over, Starsky asked, "You ever thought about being a cop?"

"Actually, I have." she replied.

She pulled the meat out of the microwave and put it in a pan that was sitting on the stove. She got out a wooden spoon after again, looking through all of the drawers, finally finding what she needed.

After about a half hour, the meat was browned and she had put the spices in. She got out another pan and some tortilla shells. She browned all of those, and called Starsky over to the table. She brought out the meat and the shells and set them on the table. She then went back into the kitchen and came back with shredded cheese, sour cream, and lettuce.

She sat down and they both dug. She put everything on her taco, including the lettuce.

"Your just like Hutch. He's too healthy." Starsky said.

"I like being healthy. I don't like eating chocolate 24/7" she replied. "I like to stay healthy. Why, don't you like to eat healthy?"

"Not usually. Hutch complains when I eat a burrito or want to stop for something to eat on the job."

"I understand."

Starsky rolled his eyes. "He makes a health drink every morning. Chugs it right down in front of me. I've only tried it once. Terrible stuff."

"Maybe I should get the recipe."

"No you don't."

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

Starsky had taken me to his house and helped me get settled. I said that I would take the couch, but he told me that I was going to get his bed. I volunteered to make dinner, but he refused. When I turned on my girl charms, he finally agreed.

"What'ya want?" I asked.

"What's your special? he asked me.

"A lot of things." I replied.

"Surprise me." he said after a minute.

I nodded and walked into his kitchen.

'Spices. I need spices.' I thought.

I started rummaging through his cupboards, and after a few minutes of looking through the cabinets, I gave up. I closed the cupboard door and turned to Starsky.

"Where's your spice cupboard?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He pointed to a cupboard above the last one I just looked through. I hit my forehead with my had. I opened and got what I needed.

"What're you cookin'?" he asked.

"Ah ah ah. It's a surprise." I objected.

The next thing I need was 2 pounds of meat. I went to his freezer, opened it, and took out the meat. I snipped the ends of the bags off, put the meat on a plate and put it in the microwave above his oven. I entered 2 pounds into the microwave to defrost and walked out and sat next to Starsky on the couch. He wasn't watching TV, so I retrieved the remote and turned it on. I was flipping through channels, then stopped, seeing that the Dukes of Hazzard was on. I set the remote down.

"Hey, you like the Dukes too?" Starsky asked.

"Oh yeah! I could talk about them for hours!" I replied, smiling.

"What's your favorite episode?"

"Uhh...There's so many. I would have to say My Son, Bo Hogg. Yours?" I asked.

"I like Officer Daisy Duke."

"Of course. You're a cop, then she was a cop. You like tough women?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna wrestle?" I asked him. He gave me a funny look.

"I don't want to hurt you." he replied.

"You won't hurt me. Come on, I was raised with three older brothers."

I saw him wince. I pulled his leg, making him fall off the couch with a grunt. I rolled him over and sat on his back and put his hands behind his back. I saw his handcuffs in his back pocket, so I grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back and handcuffed them one at a time. I got up off him and smiled at my handy work. I heard the microwave beep in the kitchen, signaling that I needed to turn the meat over.

"Be right back." I said, walking over to the kitchen and flipped the meat over. Then walked back over to Starsky.

"Come on! That wasn't fair! I wasn't ready!" he protested.

"Fine. I'll do it fair and square this time." I said.

After digging through his pockets, I found his key and unlocked the handcuffs, letting him up. I put them in my back pocket for future use. I let Starsky get up and get ready. I decided to let him make the first move, which I guess wasn't the smartest move ever. He tried to get my legs to give out, but that didn't work. I wrapped my left around his and pulled towards me. He went down pretty hard, but he got up quickly. He charged me, but I moved aside and tripped him. He got up behind me without me knowing and took me down. He took the handcuffs out of my pocket and handcuffed me this time, but as soon he got off me, I rolled over and got up.

'I guess being raised with three brothers has it's perks.' I thought to myself.

I got the handcuffs in front of me and put them around Starsky's neck.

"Give up?" I whispered in his ear. He nodded nervously, pulling at the chains of the handcuffs.

I released her grip and had Starsky unlock the cuffs. I heard the microwave beep again, so I had to go take the meat out and brown it in a pan.

As I walked over, Starsky said, "You ever thought about being a cop?" he asked me.

"Actually, I have." I replied.

I looked through all of his drawers once again trying to find a wooden spoon. Another half hour, the meat was browned, and I had to put the spices in. I got out another pan and some tortilla shells. I browned all of those, and then called Starsky over to his table. I brought out the meat and the shells and set them on the table. I ran back into the kitchen and retrieved shredded cheese, sour cream and lettuce to put on the tacos.

I sat down and we both dug. I put everything on my taco, including the lettuce.

"Your just like Hutch. He's too healthy." Starsky said to me.

"I like being healthy. I don't like eating chocolate 24/7" I replied. "I like to stay healthy. Why, don't you like to eat healthy?"

"Not usually. Hutch complains when I eat a burrito or want to stop for something to eat on the job."

"I understand."

Starsky rolled his eyes. "He makes a health drink every morning. Chugs it right down in front of me. I've only tried it once. Terrible stuff."

"Maybe I should get the recipe." I said, smiling.

"No you don't."


	6. Chapter 6

**When you remember that you have a memorization due for English tomorrow...**

 **Chapter 6**

As Starsky was sleeping on the couch, the phone rang beside him. Fearing it was about Hutch, he frantically picked it up.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hi, Mr. Starsky? I have some bad news for you. The man you brought in today that was arrested. Well, he escaped. " a voice came.

"What?!" Starsky yelled. Remembering Katherine in his room, he quieted his voice. "What? How'd it happen?"

"I don't know. But the police who were guarding him were knocked out when it was time to go check on him."

"OK. Thank you for calling."

"No problem. Bye."

"Bye." he said, hanging up the phone.

'What am I gonna do? She can protect herself, but how old is she? Like 13 or 14?' he thought to himself. 'She can't be left alone. She'll have to come to work with me.'

He sighed and flopped back against the pillows. He rubbed his hand across his face. He looked at the clock. He would be getting up in a couple hours, so he thought that he should get some more sleep. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep, even though he was worried about Katherine.

He woke up the exact time he was supposed to and got up. He walked over to his bedroom door and opened it slightly. She was under the covers, with the blanket up to her neck. She was hugging the blanket to her body. He walked up to her quietly and shook his shoulder. She groaned and cracked one of her eyes open. When she realized where she was, she opened both of her eyes.

"I thought it was just a nightmare." she muttered, rubbing her eyes and yawned.

"No, sorry."

"I only remember getting up this early for school. Before I started running that is." Katherine said,

"Sorry. But I have some bad news to tell you." Starsky said. "You know the goy that we took to the hospital and had guarded?" she nodded. "Well, he escaped. We don't know where he is."

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

I was sleeping peacefully when I heard the phone ring. I heard Starsky answer it, so I went back to sleep. I hugged the blankets close to keep warm. I fell asleep quickly.

 _I was with my family at my house having dinner. We were laughing as usual and sharing stories about our day. I was talking about me and my friend, Lela. Me and her were talking about how we were soul sisters and that we should get t-shirts that said soul sisters on them._

 _"Yeah. She said that God made us friends because he knew parent's couldn't take us as sisters. I agreed.' I said._

 _"I can't handle you as a sister alone." my brother said. I glared at him._

 _We continued on eating and laughing at each other, when plop, a napkin landed in my water . I looked over at my other brother and glared. I took the napkin out of my water and threw it at his cup and missed. My dad picked up his napkin and threw it into my mom's cup. While he wasn't looking, I put the napkin that was beside my plate and put it in his cup. He put his hand over his cup after I put it in there, not knowing there was already one there. He smiled and we all laughed. He looked at his cup and rolled his eyes._

 _"OK. Who put this one in here?" he asked." I raised my hand. "That's what I thought." he said as he put it in my cup._

I was shook a little and pulled out of my dream. I cracked one eye and when I saw familiar black curly hair beside me, I realized where I was.

"I thought it was just a nightmare." I said, while yawning and rubbing my eyes,

"Nope, sorry." he said. His eyes showed compassion as he talked to me.

"I only remember getting up this early for school. Before I started running, that is." I said.

"Sorry. But I have some bad news to tell you." Starsky said. "You know the guy that we took to the hospital and had guarded?" I nodded. "Well, he escaped. We don't know where he is."

 **The napkin incident was actually true, My family will do that. It's fun.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Everything went silent and Katherine paled. Starsky rubbed her arms in a way to comfort her. Tears started rolling down her face and he pulled her head to his chest and rocked her back and forth until she stopped crying and pulled away. He rubbed her back.

"You gonna be OK?" he asked. She nodded. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Would it be too much trouble for you to make some eggs?"

"No. Fried or scrambled?"

"Fried.

"Fried eggs comin' up. You can take a shower if you want." Starsky said. She nodded and grabbed clothes from her suitcase and walked out to the bathroom and closed the door.

Starsky sighed and went out to his refrigerator, grabbed two eggs, and cracked them into the pan.

It was long before Katherine emerged from the bathroom, braiding her hair in two pigtails. She tossed her pajamas in the bedroom and went into the kitchen. She had a hair tie on her wrist while she was braiding her hair.

She leaned up against the counter, watching Starsky make the eggs. She was wearing a Dukes of Hazzard shirt with Bo, Luke and Daisy on the front. Daisy was holding a guitar in the middle, Luke was to the left of her, while Bo to her right while on the bottom it said, The Dukes of Hazzard in cursive letters. With the shirt she was wearing black leggings. As the put the last hair tie in her hair, he finished the eggs, and then put them in front of her and handed her a fork.

"Thanks." she said, digging into her eggs.

"No problem." Starsky replied, smiling. "I didn't even tell you why I got you up."

"I assumed why. You want me to ride with you, right?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping you don't mind."

"No! Not one bit. I've always wanted to see cops on the job." she replied.

Starsky replied. "You can even tell me why your running. If you don't mind."

"I don't want to, but I will." she hesitated. "But it's only because you're a cop and I trust you." she said, pointing a finger at Starsky. He nodded.

She finished the eggs and they both headed out the door. She sat in Hutch's spot. After a little while of driving, Starsky broke the silence.

"So you ready to tell me why your running?"

"Yeah. So, I was at my friend's house. He name is Lela. She's my soul sister. I'm over there so much that we could switch places and our families wouldn't notice. Anyway, when she dropped me off at my house, I went inside and she left. I walked through the house and into my living room. My parents were laying there, so I dropped my bag and rushed to their side." she paused. "I went and searched the rest of the house and found my brother's bodies. My oldest brother was home that week. He was dead too. I feared that the man or woman that killed them would find out that I was still alive and come after me. So, I started running." she finished with tears streaming down her face. "Lela doesn't even know I'm gone."

Starsky stopped the car and pulled her to him, rubbing her back as she cried out loud. He once again rocked her back and forth until this time she fell asleep. He laid her down and out her head on his lap. He took off his jacket and put it on her upper half. She snuggled into it.

 **Starsky + Hutch= Starsky and Hutch**

When he told me that the guy had escaped, I instantly paled. Starsky rubbed my arms, then pulled my head to his chest and rocked me back and forth until I stopped crying and pulled away. He rubbed my arms.

"You gonna be OK?" I nodded. "What do you want for breakfast?"

'OK, I'm getting up, I probably have to ride with him today.' I thought.

"Would it be too much trouble for you to make some eggs?" I asked.

"No! Fried or scrambled?"

"Fried please."

"Got it. Fried eggs comin' up. You can take a shower if you want." he said.

I nodded. I pulled out my suitcase and grabbed some clothes out. I walked out and into the bathroom, leaving Starsky in the bedroom.

As I was taking a shower, I really though t if I should've called Lela to tell her where I was and what happened. I let the warm water run over my face. Usually I don't like having warm water on my face, but I felt it melt all my worries away for the time being.

'I've got Starsky. He'll protect me.' I thought.

When I got out, I towel dried my hair and put my clothes on. I always braid my hair into two pieces, so I had to hair bands on my wrist. I threw my pajamas into the bedroom. I went out into the kitchen braiding my hair and watched Starsky make my eggs. I was wearing my favorite Dukes shirt, well my only Dukes shirt. I also had black leggings on. As I finished braiding my hair, Starsky finished my eggs and placed them in front of me with a fork.

"Thanks." I said, digging into them.

"No problem." he replied, smiling. I smiled back. Whenever someone smiles at me nicely, I can't help but smile back. "I didn't even tell you why I got you up."

"I assumed why. You want me to ride with you, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm hoping you don't mind." he said. "I know you could hold your own, but I would feel better if you were with me."

"No! I don't mind! I've always wanted to see cops on the job." I replied.

Starsky nodded. "You can even tell me why your running. If you don't mind."

'I don't want to, but I will." I said, setting down my fork. "But it's only because you're a cop and I trust you." I said sternly, pointing a finger at him. He nodded.

I finished my eggs a couple minutes later and we both headed out the door. After a little while of driving, Starsky broke the silence.

"So, you ready to tell me why your running?"

I sighed. "Yeah. So, I was at my friend's house. He name is Lela. She's my soul sister. I'm over there so much that we could switch places and our families wouldn't notice. Anyway, when she dropped me off at my house, I went inside and she left. I walked through the house and into my living room. My parents were laying there, so I dropped my bag and rushed to their side." I paused. "I went and searched the rest of the house and found my brother's bodies. My oldest brother was home that week. He was dead too. I feared that the man or woman that killed them would find out that I was still alive and come after me. So, I started running." I finished with tears streaming down my face. "Lela doesn't even know I'm gone."

Starsky stopped the car and pulled me to him, rubbing my back as I cried out loud. He once again rocked me back and forth until this time I fell asleep. I felt Starsky put his jacket over me and I snuggled into it. I dreamed about my family once again.

 **I have so much crying going on! I hope it isn't annoying anybody with how much I have! I apologize if it is!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Starsky pulled up to the station to his regular spot. Katherine's head was still in his lap. She was resting peacefully, with her legs curled up against her. Starsky stroked her braided hair as she stirred under his touch. She pushed Starsky's jacket back and sat up.

"Hey there, sleepyhead. Enjoy your nap?" he asked. She nodded.

Katherine looked around and immediately noticed they were at the station. "This is where you work?" she asked.

"Yup. This is where I work. Sometimes where I sleep. I sometimes fall asleep at the typewriter." Starsky smiled. Katherine laughed out loud.

Starsky opened the door and got out. Katherine followed suit. They walked into the station side by side. Starsky showed Katherine where his and Hutch's desk and let her sit at Hutch's spot.

"You should sit here. I mean, it's your partners spot." she said, getting up. "You would wanna sit here. It's special."

"No, it OK. You can sit there."

She hesitated before sitting down in the seat. Dobey's door opened startling her.

"Starsky. In my office." he said. He smiled at Katherine, she smiled back.

"Be right back." Starsky said, getting up and going into the office. He closed the door behind him. "What'ya need Captain?"

"How's she doing?" he asked.

"I guess she's doing OK. She told me she's running?" Starsky replied.

"Why's she running?"

"That's a story for another time. You didn't call me in to ask me to question."

"Your right. The hospital called you, I assume?"

"Yeah, that's why I brought her with me." Starsky said.

Dobey nodded. "I'm putting you on this case. We put a couple of guards by Hutch's room to make sure only authorized personnel can go in." Starsky nodded in relief hearing this. "Your dismissed."

Starsky left the room, to see Katherine not in Hutch's seat. He started to panic. "Where's Katherine?" he asked the officers in the room frantically.

"She went to the bathroom." one of them said.

Starsky relaxed and sat down to wait. When she came back in, he stood up.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Where're we going?" she asked

"On the job. We're going to go searching for the guy who shot Hutch and is chasing you. You're going to see how police work." he replied. He saw her eyes light up.

"Great."

Starsky led her out and to the car. She got in with anticipation. He could tell that she was excited. He smiled as he got in and started the car. Not long after, Minnie's voice came over the radio.

"All units, all units in the vicinity of Third and Main. A 2-11 in progress at Steve's Convenient Store. Proceed with caution."

Katherine, not knowing Bay City all that well asked, "How far are we from it?"

"About two minutes." he grabbed the CB off of the holder and put it up to his mouth. "This is Zebra 3. We are responding. ETA about two minutes.

"10-4 Zebra 3. Proceed with caution."

"10-4."

Starsky put the CB back on the holder. "Right there there's a MARS light. Put that on the roof." he pointed to the corner of the dash. She nodded and grabbed the light, putting it on the roof. "Hold on." he said.

Katherine heard what he said and hung onto the seat and the door frame as he sped up. It didn't take long to get there, and Starsky immediately took out his gun as they arrived.

"Stay here, unless you absolutely need to get out." he said. She nodded.

He got out of the car and went around the back of the store. Katherine sat in the car obediently.

Starsky went around cautiously to the back door of the store. He entered quietly and inched along the wall. There was a mirror on the wall across from him, showing what was going on in the front room. A man with a gun and mask was holding the cashier at gunpoint, while making him empty the cash register. As he inched along the wall, he accidentally kicked a loose pencil and it hit the wall, alerting the man of Starsky's presence. He bolted out in front of Starsky, shooting his gun. Starsky dove to the ground and army crawled up to the front desk. He looked over the desk to fire his own weapon, but the man was gone. He made sure the cashier was alright before running out to the sidewalk to find Katherine fighting him. She kicked the gun out of the his hand, but wasn't expecting the leg that kicked out her other leg. She fell to the ground with a grunt. The man dove on top of her. They took turns being on top of each other, rolling all over the sidewalk, before the man finally got a hold of her arm and bent it an unnatural way. She shrieked and let go of him. He got off of her and ran off. Starsky quickly started after him, catching him after a minute of running. He handcuffed him and started leading him back to the car. When he got there, Katherine was sitting against the tire of the Torino, favoring her right arm. Some black and whites pulled up and took the man away, but after giving the money back to the cashier.

Starsky crouched down to her level. A bruise was starting to form on her cheek just below her eye.

"Hey, what were you doing?" he asked.

"Saving your job." she muttered through gritted teeth.

"I wouldn't have gotten fired for that." Starsky said. He reached for her arm carefully. As he took it and ran his hand along it, she yelled.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry." he said. "It's broken. We need to get this taken care of. I'm gonna help you up."

He grabbed a hold of her left arm and helped her up. She whimpered a little bit. He opened the door for her and she got in slowly. He closed it and went over to talk to the other cops.

"Hey Starsky. She OK?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, Bernie. Just a broken arm. Nothing major. I'm gonna take her to the hospital and I'll type up the report for this." Starsky replied.

"OK. See ya later."

Starsky waved as he walked off. He got in his car and looked over at Katherine. She was asleep with her head against the door frame. The bruise had fully shown itself, and it wasn't a pretty sight. He sighed, started the car, and drove off slowly.

As soon as they arrived, Starsky shook her good arm. She groaned and shook it off.

"We gotta get your arm taken care of sometime." he said quietly. She opened her eyes and immediately grimaced. "Take it east. We're gonna get it taken care of and your gonna get your pain killers, OK?" She nodded.

He hopped out and ran over to the other side of the car and opened the door for her. He helped her up, since she was a little un-steady on her feet. He slowly guided her into the hospital. By the time they got through the doors, she had put her full weight on Starsky. She wasn't that heavy, but she was in a lot of pain, so she was weaker. He walked up to the front desk, talked to the nurse there, and she took Katherine back. She let Starsky come too, so he could keep her calm.

Katherine became more alert as the process of x-raying and setting her arm in a cast bore on. Once the nurse was done, she gave Starsky a bottle filled with pain killers in it. She told him to give her one with breakfast, lunch and dinner. She also told him to let her sleep in the afternoon for a couple days, then she could be up for the whole day after that. He agreed to follow all the rules the nurse told him. He thought about seeing Hutch, but he told himself that he was going to see him that afternoon after work.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Starsky occasionally looked back at Katherine to see how she was doing. He felt really bad about getting her arm broken. He was so focused on protecting her and finding the guy who shot Hutch, he didn't know where to start. He figured that the guy would hide out, but where? He figured to go see Huggy to see if he knew anything.

Katherine stirred in the backseat and turned over to face the seat. His jacket fell off of her shoulders, so he slowed down and picked it up, putting it back around her. All of a sudden, his tire popped and he held onto the steering wheel tightly. He had to hit the brakes hard to make it stop, making Katherine slide off of the seat and ram the back of his seat with a shriek.

"Ouch!" she said.

"You ok?" Starsky asked frantically

"Yeah." she replied. "I guess. I hit my arm on the back of your seat."

"I'm sorry. My tire popped. I gotta get out and fix it. You can either get out or go back to sleep." Starsky said.

"I'm not going back to sleep now."

She oyshed the lever forward on the front set and got out of the car. She went to the back, and Starsky tossed her the keys to the trunk. She unlocked the trunk and opened it.

"You got a jack?" she asked.

"Uh, there should be one in the trunk." he replied.

"I don't see one." she said

"There should be one." he said, running around to the trunk to look. He moved his spare out of the way before looking for the jack. A minute later, he threw his hands up in the air. "It's not there. Merle musta took it out when he was working in here and never put it back." he sighed

"What're we gonna do now?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know. I'm gonna call Merle and see if he can bring me a jack." Starsky replied, getting back in the car.

Katherine closed the trunk and also got in the car. He grabbed the phone that sitting on the floor.

"Hey Merle. You don't happen to have my jack in your garage somewhere do you?" Starsky said. There was silence before Starsky spoke up again. "Can you bring it out to me? I'm kinda stuck here right next to this Italian restaurant. You know where that it? Great How long is it gonna be before you get here?" Silence. "An hour? Ok, we'll be here." He hung i. "He's gonna be her in about an hour. Wanna get some lunch?"

"Sure." Katherine replied.

They walked in side by side and waited for a person to seat them. When they were seated, they each got something to drunk. Katherine got a rootbeer, while Starsky got a beer. The waitress left and they each looked at the menu before them. Starsky looked through the menu longingly. He was quite hungry. He had almost finished his beer when the waitress came back.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked nicely

Starsky looked at Katherine, letting her go first. "I would like Pesto Allo Genovese." she said. The waitress wrote it down and turned to Starsky.

"I would like Tiramio, please." he said.

"Your food will be ready in a little while." she said after writing down Starsky's order and taking the menu's away from them.

After she walked away, Starsky asked Katherine, "Is your arm hurting?"

"A little. I'll take a pain killer after were done here." she replied.

"Good idea."

After a minute of silence, Katherine spoke, her voice quiet. "Look, I'm real sorry about getting Hutch shot and everything. I should have just let him kill me so I could be with my family and not have dragged you two into my situation. You don't have to help me, you know. It's my-" she started.

"Now listen here." Starsky said, cutting her off. "It's not your fault and I don't mind helping you. It's my duty anyway." he said sternly.

"But-" she started again.

"No, buts." he stated.

She hung her head in defeat. A couple minutes later, the food came and they both dug in happily, Starsky finishing first. Katherine was having trouble eating her's because she was forced to eat with her left hand, so Starsky went out and checked to see if Merle had dropped off the jack for his car. He came back in about 10 minutes later and sat down across from her.

"What took you so long?" she asked, grinning.

"I changed the tire on my car." he said.

"Your slow. I could've had that done in five minutes." she said jokingly.

"I can believe that." he laughed. "But the Duke boys did it in 53 seconds."

She laughed as she finished eating and headed out to the car as he paid the bill for the food.

"Where are we going now?" she asked as he got in the car.

"We're going to see my go to man for information." Starsky replied.

"Who's that?"

"Huggy Bear. Owns the Pits."

"Never hear of it, or him." she said.

"You'll meet him soon enough." he said.

She didn't respond and just turned and looked out the window as he drove.

Starsky broke the ever hanging silence. "So you had brothers?"

"Yeah. I did. All older." she said.

"One was a cop?"

"Yeah. The oldest one. We were the closest. Whenever he came home, we threw his football around in our backyard. I wouldn't necessarily call it a tradition."

"What about your other two brothers?" Starsky asked.

"Well, the second one was a firefighter and the third oldest wasn't really anything. He was trying to find a job, but never did."

Starsky mumbled something Katherine couldn't understand. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing." he said.

Starsky pulled up to the Pits and parked the car. They each got out and walked to the door. Starsky opened the door for her and she walked in, instantly hit by the smell of cigar smoke and sweat from bodies. She coughed as they walked back to a booth in the far corner. Huggy spotted them and walked over to the booth.

"Hey, Starsk. I heard about your blonde brother. " was the first thing that came out of his mouth

"Yeah." Starsky said sadly.

"Who's this?" he questioned, gesturing to Katherine.

"Oh, this is Katherine. I'll explain about her later. But the guy I had arrested escaped, so I need you to keep an ear out for any information on him. Or try to find any on him."

"Name?" he asked.

"James Brown." Starsky looked at Katherine, who nodded .

"Got it. I'll keep eyes and ears out." Huggy said,

"Thanks Hug." Starsky patted him on the shoulder.

"No problem." he said, walking away

Starsky and Katherine stood up and left casually. "So now what?" Katherine asked once they got settled in the car.

"I don't really know. We can keep looking, or wait for Huggy to get back to us. Your choice."

"I kinda want to wait." she said.

"We could go back to the station or just drive around."

"I don't think Dobey wants to see us back unless we really need to be." she siad.

He nodded. "Then let's drive around and see what we can find. Then around four we can go see Hutch. How does that sound?" he asked her as she nodded.

"Sounds good."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

After Starsky's shift was done, he and Katherine went to the hospital to see Hutch. He could tell she was nervous about it. He patted her back.

"He'll be fine." he said. She shrugged.

"I hope so."

He drove to the hospital and parked in a spot a ways from the front door. They waved to the nurse at the front desk, who greeted them with a hello as they walked in. They walked to Hutch's room and entered quietly, only to see the doctor checking Hutch's vitals. Starsky pulled him out of the room to talk to him after he was done, leaving Katherine all alone with Hutch.

"How's he doin'?" Starsky asked.

"His vitals are getting stronger. He needs a lot of rest though." the doctor said

"So can he go home soon?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe two or three days. As long as he doesn't do anything to heavy and that he gets lots of rest, he can go home in the range of two to three days."

"Alright. Thank you."

The doctor walked away and Starsky went back into the room where Katherine was talking to Hutch. She stood up and let him sit down next to Hutch. Starsky grabbed his hand when he and enclosed it with both of his. Katherine leaned down next to Starsky's war,

"I'm gonna go walk around a little bit." she said.

"Come back in about ten minutes. Then we'll go back to my place." Starsky said. She patted his shoulder and left.

"How's she holdin' up?" Hutch asked.

"She's doing pretty well. She kicked my butt in 'wrestling'." he used his fingers to emphasize wrestling.

"How old is she, fourteen, fifteen? You got beat by a fourteen year old Starsk?" he laughed, then stopped and winced. "Don't make me laugh."

"Take it easy buddy." Starsky said. "You're not at the peak of condition."

"Do you know when I can go home?" Hutch asked.

"The doc said two or three days, if you promise not to do anything heavy and that you get lots of rest." Starsky said. "I'll be around to make sure you rest."

"We'll see."

"Katherine should be getting back any time now. Then we'll leave, so you can get some rest." he said as Hutch nodded.

They sat in silence for a couple minutes before Starsky started getting worried. Hutch could see it written on his face.

"Starsk, maybe she's running a little late. Hasn't noticed the time." Hutch said, trying to lift the worry."

"Maybe. If she's not back in five minutes, I'll go looking around the hospital."

Hutch reached his hand out and Starsky took it, squeezing it lightly.

Five minutes later, she still wasn't back. Starsky was getting antsy, so he finally got up and went to the door.

"I'll see you later." he said.

"Yeah. I hope she's alright." Hutch replied,

Starsky didn't reply as he went out the door. He ran down each hall, looking for the blonde haired girl, also calling her name. When he had looked through each hall, he looked outside, but didn't find her there either. He started to panic and rushed into the hospital and to a phone, calling Dobey.

"Dobey here." Dobey answered the phone.

"She's gone, Cap." Starsky said frantically.

"Who's gone?"

"Katherine. From the hospital. She went to walk around and I went to find her so we could go back to my apartment, but she's not here."

"Okay Starsky. Slow down." Dobey said. "Ask around. Did anyone see her? Did anyone see the car that took her?"

"I'll look around. If I get anything, I'll call you."

"10-4. Talk to you later."

Starsky hung up the phone and ran back to Hutch's room. As he walked in, he was trying to figure out what he was going to say and how he was going to word it. When he walked in, Hutch's head turned towards him and his face fell as he looked into Starsky's eyes.

"She's gone, isn't she?" he asked as Starsky nodded.

"Yeah. I couldn't find her. I looked everywhere." Hutch sighed and held out his hand for Starsky, who took it. "I shouldn't have let her walk around alone."

"You didn't know it was going to happen and neither did she."

"I know but-" Starsky started.,

"No buts, go find her." Hutch said,


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Starsky ran out the door after his short conversation with Hutch. He walked around, looking for anybody that might have saw anything about Katherine. He saw a young woman sitting on a bench outside a room.

"Excuse me, did you happen to see a girl in a gray Dukes of Hazzard shirt with tight black pants go by here?" he squatted in front of her.

"Well, I did see a doctor in scrubs carrying someone in that description. But he told me she was fine and that she was just tired."

"Could you tell me what he looked like?" Starsky asked.

"I couldn't see much because he had a mask on. But he was about 5'11. About 200 pounds." the lady said.

"Thank you, this will help us more than you think." Starsky smiled. "Can I get your name?"

"Sandy."

"Thank you, Sandy. We'll be getting back to you. Can I have your phone number?"

She told him her number, but when he patted his pocket for his notepad, it wasn't there. He realized he had forgotten to put it in his pocket that morning when they left his apartment. "Do you have a piece of paper I can write this on?"

She handed Starsky a paper, who wrote down all the information, thanked her again and started down the hallway. When he went through the doors of the hospital, he saw another lady sitting on a bench. He wondered if she would've saw a car leave the hospital with Katherine. He walked over to her, careful not to startle her.

"Can I sit here?" he asked.

"Of course." she said, moving her purse.

There was a minute of silence before he spoke again. "Did you happen to see a car speed out of here? Or a man with a girl in his arms go to a car and leave?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did. He got in a dark brown car. Four doors." She explained.

"Was he wearing scrubs or anything?"

"No, he was wearing a brown plaid shirt. It was torn at the elbows and he was wearing tan pants. It didn't look like he shaved in two weeks."

"Did you get the license plate by any chance?" he asked

"Yes I did. It was...CNH 320."

Starsky wrote it down and thanked her. "Can I have your name and number?" he asked, writing it down when she told him.

Starsky ran to his car after she told him, grabbing the CB radio when he got in. "This is Zebra 3. Patch me through to Captain Dobey please."

"10-4 Zebra 3."

Starsky tapped his steering wheel impatiently, jumping a bit when Dobey answered. "Captain Dobey, what is it Starsky?"

"Cap'n, I've got some information on what happened to Katherine."

"What is it?"

"The man who took her is estimated to be around 200 pounds. About 5'11. He was wearing a brown plaid shirt that was torn at the elbows. He was also wearing tan pants. Also it looked like he hasn't shaved in about two weeks." he explained to him.

"Did anyone see a car leave the hospital?" Dobey asked.

"Yeah. A dark brown car. Four doors. The license plate is CNH 320."

"I'll get back to you. And Starsky." Dobey said.

"Yeah?" Starsky asked.

"Good job."

"Thanks."

Starsky sighed, putting the CB back into its cradle. "Please be okay." He whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **I've finally gotten to updating this story! It's been so long! But I've been quite busy over the past few weeks since it's getting closer to the end of the school year for me, but I will try to get back on track. I have only a couple more chapters left to type up, so we are nearing the end of this story. Sadly to say, you will not get more than one chapter today.**

Starsky sighed as he flopped onto his couch, beer in hand. Dobey had gotten him to go home while he was waiting on information on Katherine. He had threatened to not give him any information unless he went home and ate some food and got some sleep. He had finally given in and went home. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. The first thing that came on was the show she loved most, The Dukes of Hazzard. Tears started welling up in his eyes as he stared at the screen. It was her favorite episode, My Son, Bo Hogg. The tears came full force as he threw the remote at the wall next to the TV, making it shatter into a million pieces. He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to get himself under control. He got up and turned the TV off and went to take a shower, setting his beer on the sink next to the shower.

As he stood with the water running over his face, he thought about the past few days. 'She trusted me.' he thought to himself. 'I let my guard down."

He grabbed the shampoo, put some on his hands, and scrubbed his hair fiercely, trying to get his anger out on something that wasn't expensive.

"Maybe I should go to the place Hutch goes too to work out." he mumbled.

He shut the water off and wrapped a towel around his bottom half, grabbing his beer and then walked out to the kitchen to finish it off.

Starsky didn't get much sleep that night, thinking about Katherine and what she was possibly going through at that very moment. He tossed and turned all night, having nightmares ever time he closed his eyes. Once it was time to get up, he skipped breakfast and headed straight to work. He wanted to find her and bring her back safe and sound.

When he got there, he went straight to Dobey's office. "Have anything for me yet?" he asked immediately, not even taking a seat.

"Not yet. Sorry." he said. "Did you eat breakfast?"

He hesitated before speaking. "No." he hung his head.

"Go downstairs and get something to eat."

"I have to find her. I gotta look."

"Starsky. She's going to need you when you do find her. Hutch needs you. You won't be of any use to either of them if you're not keeping your health up properly."

"But-" he started.

"No buts." Dobey hit a button. "Minnie, this is Dobey. Can you come down here for a minute?"

"Yes sir Captain." came her response.

A minute later, Minnie came through the door and went up to the desk. "Captain."

"Go take Starsky down for something to eat." Dobey ordered.

"Yes Captain. Come on, Starsky." Minnie said, taking him by the arm and dragging him out.

She had to practically drag him all the way downstairs because all he wanted to do was go and look. When he finally downed some coffee and ate a donut, she let him go.

While he was driving around, he saw a man that fit the description he gave Dobey. He was about to call it in, but Dobey cut him off. His name was James Brown, as Katherine had said. He had a warrant out for his arrest for two other murder cases. When Dobey gave him the address, he immediately went for it. JE parked a ways away for his car wouldn't be seen in the driveway.

He walked up to the house casually and knocked on the door, incase that wasn't James he saw on the street. No one answered, so he tried the door. It was surprisingly unlocked and he went in silently. He pulled out his gun and walked around the house, going along the walls.

Once he had went through the whole upstairs, he went downstairs. He went down the stairs carefully and quietly, flicking the light on once he opened the door. It was cement and it was cold, but all he cared about was who he saw in the middle of the room tied up to a chair. Katherine. He holstered his gun and ran over to her. She had bruises on her face and cuts everywhere. He lifted her head with his hand and her eyes flew open, trying to get away , until she realized it was Starsky.

"Starsky?" she whispered, staring at him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Hey, kiddo." he said, going behind her and untying her hands and feet. Her wrists were raw from trying to get untied. She instantly hugged him when he was in front of her, in which he hugged her back.

"I didn't think you were coming." she said quietly.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because I didn't think you had time. Plus I dragged you into this mess and I didn't think you wanted to save me."

"If you drag me into a mess, I go through with it until it's over." Starsky said. "We better get outta here. I saw that guy coming towards the house. We can grab him on the way back to the station."

She nodded as he wrapped his arm around her waist carefully and helped her up the stairs. When they went around a corner at the top of the stairs, they ran into James. They walked backwards when he pulled out a gun and pointed it towards them.

"Where do you think you're going, kid?" he asked, then looked at Starsky.

"I'm checking out of here, what does it look like?" she said, confidently.

"I don't think so." he said.

"Leave her alone, James." Starsky said, giving him a glare.

"Who're you to tell me what to do."

Starsky pulled out his badge out of his pocket. "Bay City PD. Your under arrest for murder and kidnapping." he said.

"Not today." he said, aiming the gun at Starsky quickly and fired. Katherine pushed Starsky out of the way. She landed on top of him as they fell to the floor. She quickly rolled off of him and sat up.

Starsky watched as she reached for her right shoulder and pulled it away with blood on it. She got up slowly an let go of her shoulder. James kept his gun trained on Starsky and fired again, in which he dodged. He fired at Katherine next as she dodged it as well, but slower. She ignored the burning pain in her shoulder as she continued to dodge flying bullets. She ran into another room to try and catch her breath as Starsky stayed in the other room with James.

Back in the other room, James had ran out of bullets and Starsky faced him. "What do you have against her and her family?" Starsky asked.

"A man wanted her and her family dead. But he got caught. So I did it for him."

"But what did he have against them?"

"His family and theirs competed for business. They were far ahead of his and he felt they needed to be eliminated."

"Just because they were far ahead in the business didn't mean they needed to be eliminated."

James rolled his eyes as Katherine was sneaking up behind him. Starsky was keeping him occupied while she snuck up so he didn't see her. He could see the dark red of the blood that was soaking through her gray shirt.

"What was his name?" Starsky asked.

" I don't remember." he lied.

Katherine ran/stumbled at him and tackled him to the ground with a yell of pain from her. She sat on his back and held his arms down with her legs and Starsky took the gun from him. She held her right arm against her, trying not to jostle her shoulder too much. Starsky helped her up off of him and then quickly handcuffed him. After handcuffing him, he directed his attention to Katherine's shoulder. Her eyes were beginning to glaze over from all the pain and she was having trouble staying upright.

"Hang on kiddo." he said.


End file.
